Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen
Zimmerman on May 24th, 1941. While growing up
in Minnesota, Dylan began building his
appreciation for music and learning how to
create his own music. He was on his way to
becoming one of the most influential
songwriters and folk performers in music
history.

Dylan headed to New York at the
start of the 60s on a mission to meet his
idol Woody Guthrie and
pursue his music interests. Interest in
Dylan's music began to increase as he played
at various coffee houses in the city, opened
for John Lee Hooker, and played harmonica
on an LP by Harry Belafonte.
This exposure led to a record deal with
Columbia Records.

Dylan released his first LP, Bob
Dylan and began writing many of his
famous protest songs.

Record sales improved with his
second release The
Freewheelin' Bob Dylanwhich was
embraced by the folk music critics and fans
and included the tracks "A Hard Rain's
A-Gonna Fall" and "Blowin' In The
Wind." The LP became his first of many
platinum recordings.

Dylan released Another
Side Of Bob Dylan - which had more of a
blues influence. Dylan interspersed his music
with political activism and folk renditions,
and had also began a relationship with Joan
Baez.

Dylan released Highway
61 Revisited and his music had turned away
from his folk roots resulting in disdain from
many of his fans. Dylan's change in music
style resulted in him being booed at the
Newport Folk Festival. Dylan spent much of the year
touring including a tour with The
Band.

Dylan released Blonde
On Blonde and continued touring with The
Band to poor audience responses.

Dylan's touring days ended for a
few years when he was in a serious motorcycle
accident - he crashed his motorcycle in New
York resulting in several broken neck
vertebrae and a concussion. Dylan was in
serious condition for a week.

Dylan wrote the music for the
film, Pat
Garrett And Billy The Kidwhich also
featured a small role for Dylan. A conflict with his record
company resulted in the release of Dylan - a collection of
unreleased materials consisting of outtakes.

Dylan sang for Pope John Paul II
in Bologna. The performance was part of the
Eucharistic Congress, a weeklong religious
congress focusing on youth and the future.
The Jewish-born, Dylan sang "Knocking On
Heaven's Door," "Forever
Young," and "Hard Rain" to the
crowd of over 400,000. The pope also
referenced Dylan's classic "Blowing In
The Wind" when he addressed the crowd.Dylan released Time
Out Of Mind which revitalized his music
with critics and a younger audience.

Dylan kicked off a tour sharing
the bill with Paul
Simon. Dylan said of Simon in USA
Today: "he's written extraordinary
songs, hasn't he? I consider him one of the
pre-eminent songwriters of the times."

Dylan could be heard on the Wonder
Boys soundtrack with the new track,
"Things Have Changed."Dylan was nominated for a Grammy Awardfor
Best Country Song (songwriter) ("To Make
You Feel My Love" recorded by Garth
Brooks).

Dylan won an Oscar Award for
Best Song ("Things Have Changed").
After performing the song via satellite from
Australia and receiving the award, Dylan
said: "I'd like to thank the members of
the academy who were bold enough to give me
this award for this song. It's a song that
doesn't pussyfoot around or turn a blind eye
to human nature."

Dylan appeared on the cover of Rolling
Stone. Dylan topped the Billboard 200
LP chart, Top Digital chart, Top Rock Albums
chart, and Top Internet Albums with Modern
Times - selling over 192,000 copies
its first week of release in the US. The LP
also topped the charts in Canada. Modern
Times was certified gold.

Dylan topped the Billboard 200
LP chart, Top Internet Albums chart, Top
Digital Albums chart, and Top Rock Albums
chart with Together
Through Life. The LP sold over 125,000
copies its first week of release in the US. Dylan topped UK LP chart with Together
Through Life. Dylan appeared on the cover of Rolling
Stone.

Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often
including track listings and sound
samples).